What does it mean to find the name Franz Kieslinger in a provenance?
(above "Acquired from Dr. Franz Kieslinger, expert at the Dorotheum, Vienna, for 40 Reichsmarks in 1939"
Franz Kieslinger was, first and foremost, a Nazi art looter.
His name in a provenance is a screaming Red Flag.
This does not mean, of course, that every artwork he touched was looted from Jewish collectors, but his name indicates a high probability of a serious problem.
In which art collections does his name appear today, in 2020?
1. Albertina Museum, Vienna, Austria.
The National Fund of the Republic of Austria for Victims of National Socialism lists six artworks at the Albertina Museum that passed through the hands of Nazi art looter Franz Kieslinger, all of which were acquired in 1939.
see: https://www.kunstdatenbank.at/search-for-objects/fulltext/kieslinger
Comments: First of all, it should be noted that the provenance for the Genelli featured above is pubished NOT on the Albertina Museum website but rather on the separate website of the National Fund of the Republic of Austria for Victims of National Socialism.
Below is a screenshot from 23 April 2020 of the artwork as it appears on the Albertina Museum website. There is no provenance listed at all. This means that any search - even an Advanced Search - on the Albertina website will not pick up the artwork if one searches "Provenienz" for Kieslinger.
Secondly one notes that none of the artworks listed as having Kieslinger in the provenance are from what the Nazis labeled "degenerate" artists like Schiele. This is rather surprising as Kieslinger was known to have been involved in the expropriation of at least one Jewish collector of these artworks.
This suggests that the listings, not only of the Albertina Museum but also possibly of even the National Fund of the Republic of Austria for Victims of National Socialism might be incomplete.
Who can verify this and if necessary add the information?
